


A Simple Price

by kiyala



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-30
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 09:16:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/549994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor needs Loki's help, and Loki wants to know what he will get out of it. </p>
<p>In which Loki reopens old wounds and Thor knows that they're his fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Simple Price

“What do I get in return?”

Thor blinks, then frowns at the words. “What do you mean?”

“You want my help,” Loki says, not getting up from the chair at his desk, fingers brushing over the corners of the book opened before him though he does not turn the pages. “I’m asking you how badly you want it. I hardly think it’s fair to demand my time if I’m not going to gain anything from it.”

“I’m asking you to _help_ me,” Thor replies incredulously. “We are brothers, Loki.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you are demanding a considerable amount of my time, Thor. And no, before you argue, I will point out that you are asking for me to tutor you. _You_. Do you even remember how long you would take during our lessons as boys? And that was nothing as complicated as what you are asking of me now.”

Thor’s hands ball into fists at his sides, wishing that he had Loki’s head for magic. It’s an unusual thing to want and he tries to push it from him mind, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

“Please, Loki. I know that I can connect my power over thunder with Mjölnir, but I do not know how. Father is too busy to teach me, but I have no doubt that you are clever enough to—”

“There is no need to flatter me into doing your bidding,” Loki interrupts sharply. “I did not refuse your request, Thor, I simply asked what I will receive in return.”

Frowning, Thor considers his options. He knows that he wouldn’t be here, asking for Loki’s help, unless he truly needed it. Still, he knows his brother well enough to be slightly reluctant as he asks, “What do you want?”

Loki smiles slowly. “I want two things.”

“Two?”

“Think of what you’re asking me, Thor. Think of the power it would give you,” Loki points out. “It’s only fair.”

Thor doubts that fairness has anything to do with it, but he nods.

“Firstly, I want my payment _before_ I help you.”

“And secondly?”

“Secondly,” Loki says, and Thor suddenly knows exactly what his price will be, from the dark gleam in his brother’s eyes. “I want you to fuck me.”

«·»

Thor is no stranger to Loki’s body. It was Loki who had first taught Thor how to kiss, Loki who hid them in his room so they could spend hours on end learning the pleasure of their soft, slick lips against each other, against each other’s skin.

Loki was the first person that Thor had ever touched aside from himself; Loki’s cock in his hand, so similar and yet different. Loki’s pleasured cries muffled by Thor’s kisses; Loki’s taste heavy on Thor’s tongue. 

It had been the other Æsir who had taught Thor shame, making him question what they did. It was their opinions that he’d listened to, earning Loki’s resentment when he’d pulled away.

Thor knows that Loki is asking this of him on purpose. To challenge him. To scare him away.

He holds Loki’s gaze when he says, “Fine.”

«·»

Despite the decades that have passed, Loki still looks incredibly small, sitting in the middle of his bed.

He’s still fully dressed, but he no longer looks as sure of himself, as if all the confidence had drained from him the moment Thor agreed. He eyes are wary now as he looks at Thor, standing at the foot of the bed.

The last time they’d been like this, they were both grinning at each other, teasing, eager, perfectly at ease. Now, Thor feels strangely nervous.

“What do you want?” he asks, sounding more serious than he means to.

“What do _you_ want?” Loki returns, but his voice is soft, not sarcastic. It’s an honest question, tinged with the slightest uncertainly. 

Suddenly, Thor is gripped with the desperate urge to kiss Loki. He does, kneeling on the bed and cupping Loki’s cheek with a hand. He hears Loki’s breath hitch just before their lips meet, the feel of it awakening memories that never really faded.

Thor expects Loki’s arms to come up and hold him in place, but Loki doesn’t move at all, watching Thor as he pulls back, as if he isn’t sure of what he is allowed.

Thor kisses him again, harder, his hand settling at the back of Loki’s neck. He licks his way into Loki’s mouth and Loki makes a quiet sound at the back of his throat, surprised and pleased. Thor thinks of how long it’s been since he last heard it and this time, when their tongues slide against each other, it’s Thor who moans.

_I’d forgotten how it felt to kiss you_ , he thinks as he draws back, but he knows that Loki will not respond to it well. Instead, he kisses Loki again and again, like they are both younger and have nothing else to do all day but this. 

Thor pushes gently and Loki lies back, looking up at him with an unreadable expression. Thor doesn’t stop kissing him, doesn’t think he _can_ stop now, wondering how he ever did. They kiss until the metal of their clothes clinks together, pressing uncomfortably, and that’s something new. The clothes they’d worn when they were younger were softer, lighter, just like everything else had been. 

“I am taking this off,” Thor murmurs, and Loki lets him figure it out, lets him find the clasps and undo them, pulling layers away until Loki is bare beneath him. 

He should undress himself as well, but Thor can’t resist the urge to bring his mouth to Loki’s chest, brushing kisses over his collar bone before gently scraping his teeth over each nipple, quickly followed by his tongue.

Loki is as sensitive as Thor remembers; he immediately brings a hand to Thor's head, going very still. Thor laves attention on each nipple, kissing and sucking until they're shining with spit. He rubs the pad of his thumb over one and Loki makes a desperate sound, a wordless plea for something he can no longer demand. 

When Thor kisses Loki's neck, it feels like an apology.

He doesn’t waste time as he undresses, and Loki watches silently, his gaze feeling heavy. He glances down at Thor’s cock before meeting his eyes again and there’s no teasing, no smile, but the invitation is clear all the same.

“Do you want me to suck you?” Thor murmurs against Loki’s ear and he might not have said it, but he’s sure his brother hears the, _please, can I?_

“What do you want?” Loki asks again, his voice still quiet.

_Everything_ , Thor’s mind replies. _You_.

He realises, in that quiet and subdued manner that only epiphanies have, that Loki’s request for this as payment is more than a challenge. It’s an excuse for them to have something that they both want.

He takes Loki into his mouth, listening to him breathe, listening to the way those deep breaths become quick pants, then quiet whimpers. He licks and swallows as Loki pulls on his hair, as he stiffens and resists, resists…

“ _Thor_ ,” he cries brokenly, like the word is torn from him. Like he’s trying not to admit to himself that this is happening, that he has Thor again, because it’s going to hurt ten times harder to lose it all over again. Thor knows, because he feels the same.

He pulls away, leaving Loki wanting, hips jerking in a way that he can’t stop. 

_I want you to fuck me_ , Loki had said. Despite everything else they had done, Thor has never been inside him. They’re stopped—no, _he’d_ stopped before it could ever happen.

Thor spreads Loki’s thighs and wraps his fingers around the base of Loki’s wet cock. _Not yet_. Loki nods, trying to hide the way he’s shaking. 

Thor coats his fingers in the oil beside the bed, pressing one into Loki. Shutting his eyes, Loki breathes. When he opens them again, it’s a clear request for more. With two, then three fingers inside him, Thor curls them gentle. Loki arches, his fingers wrapping around Thor’s wrist, holding him in place. Thor curls his fingers again and Loki moans, his cock dribbling precome.

“Tell me how it feels,” Thor whispers.

“Perfect,” Loki gasps, his eyebrows drawn together. “So good, brother.”

Thor doesn’t know if Loki says it on purpose, to remind him of what he is doing, of the rules that is breaking. It only succeeds in making Thor’s cock twitch and Loki notices. He smiles, for what must be the first time since Thor had agreed to this, and it makes Thor grin in return.

“I will be gentle,” Thor promises as he slicks himself up. “We have never done this before, so—”

“There’s no need,” Loki cuts him off. “You may be right, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that I have no done this with others. If I wanted you to be gentle, I would have asked for it.”

Thor burns with unjustified jealousy, giving Loki a small nod. Then he’s pushing his way inside and it doesn’t matter any more because Loki is hot and tight, not resisting Thor, letting him in with an ease that makes Thor suspect that he has Loki’s magic to thank. 

When Thor is in to the hilt, Loki mouths, _please_. Thor doesn’t know how he could ever walk away, how he could ever refuse.

He’s had many lovers in place of Loki over the years and he’s always done his best to keep from comparing them to him. Now that he _is_ doing it, he understands why he’s avoided it for so long.

Nobody measures up to Loki. Nobody else knows him so well, and nobody else would dare to hurt him, not even when he’s thrusting into them so hard that the bed creaks beneath them.

Loki has no such qualms. His nails scratch angry, desperate lines down Thor’s back, heels digging into skin. He bites down into Thor’s shoulder to muffle his scream when Thor’s cock drags over his prostate and best of all, he _understands_ when all of this pain makes Thor moan, thrusting even harder. They feed into each other, understanding each other so well that Thor knows exactly when to take Loki in hand, stroking in time to his thrusts. They release at the same time, Thor gripping Loki’s hips, Loki’s back arching as they moan into their kiss.

“Thor,” Loki is gasping, reaching blindly. “Thor.”

“Here, Loki.” Thor finds Loki’s hand and presses his lips to it. “I am right here.”

“ _Thor_.” Loki sounds so broken that when he squeezes his eyes shut, Thor looks away, not wanting to see if there are tears in his eyes, not knowing what he would do if there were. He reminds himself that they’d done this so that Loki would give Thor his time, his knowledge. No other reason.

“Leave me.” Loki doesn’t open his eyes. “Your lessons will begin tomorrow morning.”

Thor hesitates. Loki doesn’t move, doesn’t look at him, not even as Thor stands and gets dressed.

“Where should I meet you tomorrow? Do I need to bring anything with me?”

Loki lifts his head and gives Thor a withering look that actually makes him flinch.

“Your hammer. I will meet you here.”

Thor tries to take one last look at the scene before him, to commit it to memory, but he finds that he can’t bring himself to meet Loki’s eyes.

«·»

Thor does his best to defy Loki’s expectations. He does his best to learn how to combine his mastery over thunder and his bond with his hammer as quickly as possible. Of course, it’s only when he’s trying this hard that he utterly fails. The first hour of his lesson consists of Loki calling him every name in all the nine realms, and then making up some of his own while he’s at it.

Thor allows it, not once arguing back. Despite what Loki is inclined to believe, Thor is not stupid. He knows that this is Loki’s way of venting his anger, his bitterness from sleeping in an empty bed. Thor knows the loneliness that claws at Loki’s chest, because it has his name.

He doesn’t know what to do about it, so he simply pushes himself a little harder. What Thor lacks in knowledge and skill, he makes up in sheer bullheadedness. He tries, and tries again, until he is finally rewarded by the crackle of electricity dancing over Mjölnir’s Uru surface. 

“Loki!” Thor looks up, all discomfort briefly forgotten in his excitement. “Did you see that?”

“It’s not impressive until you can do it again, to prove it wasn’t just a fluke,” Loki says, but his tone is not unkind.

Thor does, until his hammer is glowing with all of the electricity. Then, with nothing more than a thought, Thor makes it all die back down.

“See?” Thor looks up with a grin. He clips Mjölnir back onto his belt. “Thank you, Loki. I could not have done this without you.”

This earns him a genuine smile and, well—Thor had thought he would have to go for much longer without seeing it. He can’t help the way he takes a step forward, his hands on either side of Loki’s face, and kisses him.

They stare at each other as Thor pulls away. Loki opens his mouth, shuts it again, and shakes his head a little. 

“Haven’t you done enough damage, Thor? I didn’t think you were _this_ cruel. Not even by accident.

Thor frowns, confused.

“Don’t let me pretend that this can last. Better yet—don’t let me _hope_ that it will. If you hurt me like that again, I _will_ ruin you, I swear it. Once was bad enough.”

“Do you think it was painless for me?” Thor whispers.

“ _Thor_.” Loki laughs, but there’s an unhappy look in his eyes. “You have your friends. The ones whose opinions you valued over your own. What did you leave me with? You were _all that I had_ , brother, and you turned your back on me.

“I did not—” Thor begins, but the protest dies on his lips as he thinks of Loki’s expression, all those years ago, when Thor was telling him that this all had to stop. “I still love you, Loki. You are my brother, my _friend_. That has never changed.”

“Then perhaps I am as selfish as they all say,” Loki replies coldly, “because not _once_ has that ever felt like enough.”

“This is the reason behind your price,” Thor murmurs, “reopening old wounds.”

“They are mine, to open at will.”

“And mine as well.” Thor grips Loki’s shoulders tightly. “Dou you think a single day goes by where I do not _miss you_? You can be standing beside me and yet feel realms away. Nothing I can do or say seems to penetrate this wall between us—”

“This wall that _you_ built,” Loki spits. “ _Your_ shame, _your_ pride. You say that you miss me? You know what do to.”

“Loki…” Thor isn’t certain that this is going to work, that it will be this easy. Not when Loki lets his emotional wounds fester.

Still, it’s what Thor wants, and it’s clearly what Loki wants too. It’s what they’ve both wanted all along.

Kissing Loki now is nothing like kissing him before. He’s _angry_ and he lets it show, nipping hard enough to make Thor hiss. He fights against Thor, even as they both push and pull each other towards the bed. Loki is challenging him, daring him to run, just as he’s been doing this entire time. Thor knows better than to fall for it.

Even as Loki stills beneath Thor, looking up at him like he’s given the correct answer to an unspoken question, it’s clear that this isn’t over. Thor will need to do much more than this to prove himself.

He doesn’t mind. He can be stubborn.

«·»

Thor’s lessons continue for another two weeks and during that time, he’s made it clear to Loki that he isn’t going anywhere. His friends begin to talk, exchanging odd looks with each other whenever Thor attempts to include Loki in something or, more often, when Thor chooses to spend time with Loki instead of them.

Thor lets them talk, knowing that this is something that he needs that they won’t understand. 

It’s worth it, for the surprised and pleased look on Loki’s face whenever Thor choses him over the others. It’s worth it for the way Loki fits in Thor’s arms like he’s belonged there all this time. It’s worth it for the way Thor’s sheets smell of Loki once again.

Thor is kneeling over Loki, wiping him clean with a damp cloth, insistent on doing it himself rather than letting Loki use his magic. Judging by the fond look in Loki’s eyes, he doesn’t mind at all.

“You know, I wonder sometimes,” Thor murmurs, lying down beside Loki, “if you asked me to fuck you because you knew that I would not be able to stay away.”

Loki is better at giving innocent looks than he has any right to be. “Would I do that?”

Thor laughs. “You _did_.”

“No,” Loki replies softly. He reaches for Thor, cupping his cheek. “I didn’t do it to make you stay, brother. Back then, I didn’t think that _anything_ would make you stay.”

“Well,” Thor kisses Loki’s forehead. “Now you do. I am here, Loki.”

“Yes.” Wrapping his arms around Thor, Loki pulls him even closer. “Yes you are.”


End file.
